Oxfam achieves 77% Gift Aid reclaim using online sponsorship tool
Howard Lake | 15 July 2003 | News
Oxfam’s online events fundraising with Bmycharity has achieved impressive Gift Aid results, outperforming average sector Gift Aid conversions by nearly 300%.
Oxfam has demonstrated one of the key benefits of events fundraising online by collecting Gift Aid on a record proportion of donated funds. Oxfam Trailwalkers and Marathon runners have raised over £85,000 online and Oxfam has received a further £18,500 in Gift Aid. This represents a Gift Aid reclaim rate of 77% on all donated funds. This contrasts starkly with the average Gift Aid reclamation rate which, according to The Giving Campaign, is only 20%.
Because most event participants have a target which does not include Gift Aid, the additional benefit goes straight through to help Oxfam’s work. For example, a Marathon runner traditionally raising £2,000 for Oxfam normally raises an additional £435 at no extra cost to Oxfam, themselves or their supporters when fundraising online with Bmycharity.
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These exceptional Gift Aid reclamation rates are made possible by the ease and security with which donors can give Gift Aid consent online using Bmycharity’s Inland Revenue-approved paperless process. By collecting donation data online, Oxfam is also able to record and analyse the details of all donors, rather than receiving a collection from the event participant, so future events can be effectively targeted for the best fundraisers and donors.
John Mercer, Fundraising Events Manager at Oxfam, said: “Oxfam’s online events fundraising with Bmycharity has proven very popular with our trekkers, runners and Trailwalkers – and now it is possible for groups and teams to use our Bmycharity site to fundraise. By working with Bmycharity we are able to maximise the value of our Gift Aid and project the Oxfam brand around the globe.”
Commenting on the results, Peter Gilheany, Communications Manager for The Giving Campaign, said: “These are really impressive results, and show just how effective online fundraising can be in maximising Gift Aid – and what a difference Gift Aid can make in raising much needed extra funds for charity. I hope Oxfam’s example will inspire other charities to take advantage of the scheme.”
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.